Entering the Rest of God

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Entering the Rest of God

Behold, I long for Your precepts; in Your righteousness give me renewed life. . . . I will keep Your law continually, forever and ever [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]. And I will walk at liberty and at ease, for I have sought and inquired for [and desperately required] Your precepts.
—Psalm 119:40, 44-45

If you truly love the Word of God—if you hear it, receive it, and obey it—you will have freedom and live "at ease." In other words, life will not be hard, frustrating, or difficult. Your joy is full when you believe God's promises for your life and obey His commands.

The Bible teaches that those who disobeyed God's instructions, who didn't listen to His Word, do not enter into the place of rest He offered to them. So when you feel frustrated or upset or if you have lost your peace and your joy, ask yourself, "Am I believing God's Word?"

The only way we will ever be free from struggling is to believe the Word and obey whatever Jesus puts in our hearts to do. Believing God's Word delivers us from struggling so that we rest in the promises of God. The Word says, "For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest" (Hebrews 4:3).

If your thoughts have become negative and you are full of doubt, it is because you have stopped hearing, receiving, and obeying God's Word. As soon as you start believing God's Word, your joy will return and you will be "at ease" again. And that place of rest in Him is where God wants you to be every day of your life.

From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer.